


Locked Up

by susandragon01



Category: Dragons: Riders of Berk (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anthropomorphic, M/M, Prison, anthro!toothless, prison!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-25
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-12 23:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/817250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/susandragon01/pseuds/susandragon01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was not happening; all the gods hated him. Not only had he been wrongly arrested and sent into Berk’s toughest prison, Hiccup was the unfortunate cell mate to the scariest guy in there; Toothless. Modern!AU Toothcup, Slash</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introductions

How had it all gone so horribly wrong? Hiccup should be enjoying his life; building contraptions and making sketches, not getting stabbed in the back and sent to prison! 

Craig had wanted a self-throwing slingshot, so he had built one. It wasn’t his job to ask why; the customers paid and he delivered. It was just unfortunate that said slingshot was used in an attempted bank heist and since Hiccup hadn’t checked out his customer’s background, he got the blame.

Even now, as he was escorted down the dingy, graffiti lined hallways of the place that was set to be home sweet home to him for at least the next four years Hiccup knew he probably wouldn’t even survive a day. Maybe an hour if he was realistic, after all, judging from the numerous stares he was attracting, everybody was interested in the newbie.

‘Hurry up!’ Snapped the guard who was leading him to his cell. A glance at the name tag she wore revealed that her name was Astrid Hofferson and Hiccup hoped he would never have the unfortunate chance of meeting her again. She was tough, that was for sure. Her back was ramrod straight as she marched down the halls, her shoulder length blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. 

Hiccup kept his head down as he struggled to keep up with the guard. A few minutes and three frankly awful flights of stairs later they arrived at the tiny cell he would be spending a good section of his life in. There was a short bunk bed in the room, and that was it.

Hiccup had been sure he had thought of every situation he could be faced with, but apparently he had missed something because if there was one thing he hadn’t accounted for, it would be that fact he would have a cell mate. His new cellmate was currently occupying the bottom bunk, leaving Hiccup to presume the top was his.

‘Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III,’ Astrid read his name professionally off the top of her clipboard. He couldn’t help but cringe at his own name, what a wonderful job his father had done. ‘Meet Toothless, your cellmate.’ Wait, Toothless? And Hiccup had thought his name was strange!

At the sound of his name Toothless stood up, whereas before he had been half hidden in shadow, Hiccup was now able to get a good look at him. He was a good few inches taller that Hiccup and dressed in black jeans and a black button down shirt which was rolled up to his elbows.

If there was one thing Hiccup was certain about, it was that Toothless looked like he was definitely able to take care of himself. He was muscly, but not overly so, although there was certainly some definition under his shirt. Sticking to the same colour scheme, his hair was black as well, a few inches long and styled messily.

What caught Hiccup’s attention the most was his eyes; forest green and sparkling with interest. His head was tilted to the side, in what Hiccup presumed was an unconscious action, as he surveyed Hiccup, his roaming gaze not missing a thing.

Astrid was silent as Toothless looked over Hiccup, and he noted offhandedly that she was not looking towards his cellmate’s direction at all. It was only once Toothless made a grunt of dismissal and recaptured his place in the shadowed side of his bed that she spoke again. ‘There will be no fighting whatsoever. Breakfast is at 8am, showers after. You will then be given a task to work for the remainder of the morning, eat lunch at your scheduled time, then return to your job. Dinner is at 6pm and lockdown is at 10.’ With that she marched out of the room.

Hiccup gulped as he heard the door slam behind him, and he stood idly, wondering whether it was worth risking going near his new cellmate in order to climb into bed of if she should just opt to stay where he was. 

A few minutes later it seemed his option was chosen for him when emerald eyes focused on him and a deep voice called out from the bottom bunk. ‘Are you going to stand there all day?’

Hiccup started, not having expected the silence to be broken so suddenly. ‘Um..’ He replied as Toothless fluidly stood and began to stalk towards him. He took a step back and Toothless reciprocated by taking one forwards until Hiccups back was pressed against the wall next to the heavy metal door. The look in Toothless’ eyes was predatory, the green now dark and almost non-existent.

It seemed Toothless took a delight in scaring Hiccup as he leaned menacingly forward only to grab a hold of the door handle. He smirked at Hiccup before wrenching to door open and slinking out, the hinges giving moans of protest as he did so.

Hiccup breathed what was most likely the biggest sigh of relief he had ever done as he slumped back against the wall. It took some effort but he managed to get his jelly like legs to carry him over to the bed, where he promptly climbed in and fell asleep. 

Hopefully by morning, things would be less scary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I imagine Toothless, he’s somewhere a cross between Ian Somerhalder and Tyler Hoechlin.  
> I'd love to hear feedback!


	2. Chapter 2

Just like at home, Hiccup was the first to awake in the morning; although that didn’t mean he wanted to get out of bed. As the events of the previous day came back to him, he buried his face further under the blankets, loathe to remember.

Judging from the light puffs of air sounding from below him, Hiccup could tell that Toothless had returned at some point during the night. Hopefully, as he slowly and begrudgingly climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed, he wouldn’t have to talk to his cellmate at all. The guy was nerve-wrecking.

Of course, Hiccup being Hiccup, he didn’t listen to any form of rational thought, and instead silently inched closer to the dark haired man’s sleeping form. Toothless was laying on his back, his hair still perfectly messy and his lips slightly parted. His skin, from what Hiccup could see, was unblemished, with not even a freckle on his pale face.

Hiccup was still unabashedly staring when suddenly one sparkling green eye shot open and focused itself on him. ‘Why are you watching me sleep?’ His normally silky voice was gravelly from lack of use, although he seemed to be completely alert; as if he had actually been awake for some time.

‘No, no, I wasn’t. Why would I do that?’ Hiccup stuttered over himself embarrassingly as he immediately jumped up and tried to act nonchalantly. From behind Hiccup’s back Toothless sat up and quirked an eyebrow but remained silent.

There was a shuddering thud as the cell doors throughout their level automatically unlocked, signalling it was time for breakfast. Without any pre-amble, Hiccup stumbled his way out of the door and away from the close confines of the cell.  
\---  
Breakfast turned out to be actually what he had expected for once. Slop thinly disguised as porridge was what was served, and unfortunately, Hiccup felt hungry enough for it to appear almost appetising.

Since he had arrived quite early, he had managed to grab his own table in the cafeteria. But sadly he wasn’t alone for long, as when he was halfway through his bowl someone decided to come over and sit opposite him.

‘Jack.’ The stranger offered his name as he set his own meal down. Hiccup guessed he was around the same age as him; maybe a few years older. His hair was a brilliant white and his eyes an icy blue but he seemed friendly enough, a lot friendlier than the majority of leering inmates that were beginning to pour in.

‘Hiccup.’ He replied before they lapsed into a comfortable silence; Hiccup focusing on his food whereas Jack was curiously looking around.

‘You’re the newbie right?’ Jack asked around a mouthful of food.

‘Yeah, that’s me,’ Hiccup sighed. Who didn’t know that he was the new inmate?

‘So who’d you get stuck with?’ 

'Some guy called Toothless,' Hiccup attempted to speak nonchalantly and failed miserably.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his hair. 'Toothless!? Oh man, sucks for you.' At Hiccups questioning gaze he elaborated. 'Look over there,' he pointed to a row of tables to their left that the majority of inmates were crowded around. Toothless was sat right at the centre of the group, lazily leaning back into his chair with his booted feet balanced on the table. 'He's practically the boss around here; he does what he wants, gets what he wants and no one stops him, not even the guards.'

'Oh no.' Hiccup gulped and looked back towards the dark haired man. He was talking quietly to a curly brown haired man covered in flame shaped tattoos sat next to him; although, almost immediately, he seemed to sense Hiccup's gaze on him, and abruptly finished talking to his friend to leer over at Hiccup.

Hiccup quickly averted his blushing face back to Jack, but not before a few other heads had turned to notice him. Jack was surreptitiously looking from Toothless back to Hiccup and so forth, all the while trying to hold in a smile. Much to Hiccup's utter humiliation he spoke; 'Looks like you've got an admirer,’ and then cracked up.

Hiccup kept his eyes trained on the table for the rest of the meal, what had he done to deserve this?

\---

Work was surprisingly not too bad. As an inventor he was used to using hammers and nails, although this was much more heavy duty than what he was accustomed with. Thankfully, Jack was in his group and they were able to talk quietly whilst they worked.

'So why do people call him Toothless anyway?' Hiccup asked. Surely that wasn't his real name; he had to at least have a surname or something.

Jack raised an eyebrow. 'Why are you so interested anyway?' After Hiccup embarrassingly stammered that he wasn't, Jack huffed a laugh and continued. 'I don't know, as far as I’m aware he arrived here a good three years ago, well before me. That's just what people call him. My guess is that either A,' he held up his first finger as he spoke. 'He has a habit of knocking out people's teeth, or B,' a second finger appeared. 'It's a nickname he managed to get from certain nefarious activities.'

Hiccup's cheeks flushed an alarming shade of pink, and he started to wish he had never asked. How was he going to be able to face his cellmate now he knew that information?

\---

As it turned out, Hiccup didn't really have any choice. After a short, rushed dinner which mainly consisted of Jack laughing bemusedly at Hiccup's meek expression and a little small talk, Hiccup found himself thrust back into his shared cell, the locks clicking loudly behind him.

Hiccup swallowed down his nerves and tried not to fidget as he warily eyed up his cellmate.

Toothless was already in bed, lying atop of the covers, a book in hand. For all intents and purposes he looked completely engrossed in it, except for the fact he hadn’t turned a page for quite some time.

Hiccup decided to ignore this, and instead opted to jump straight into bed. He approached quickly and clambered up the short ladder, keeping his eyes averted from the carefully schooled green gaze that was sent his way. 

Burying himself under the covers he let out a short sigh and listened quietly as Toothless shifted about below him, before finally turning a page in his book. Closing his eyes, he attempted to get some much needed sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Much to Hiccup’s surprise, after a few days he seemed to be able to get into the flow of things. He’d wake up before Toothless, head straight to the cafeteria as soon as he was allowed, and eat the half edible food that was served for breakfast. 

Even though he attracted practically every look imaginable from the inmates, from leers and curious gazes, to downright frightening glares, he was glad he had made a friend in Jack, as unexpected as that friendship had been. Every morning he would sit with the white haired boy at their table, Toothless would leer at him occasionally from across the room and Jack would raise his eyebrows at the two of them before making a lewd comment.

It was on the fifth day that things changed.

Hiccup and Jack were sat at breakfast when a new inmate entered the cafeteria, the room hushing unusually silent when he appeared. Hiccup watched the new inmate curiously as he cut past the breakfast queue, everyone near him giving him a wide berth as he did so. He was a large guy, almost as wide as he was tall and with small beady eyes. He was wearing a dark blue outfit, and was completely covered in green tattoos, even on his face. 

Hiccup watched silently, as did the rest of the room, as he intercepted a much taller inmate who was taking his food to a table. Stealing the other man’s food he sat down at a nearby table, which was currently occupied by six other inmates. As soon as the new guy sat down, the other inmates immediately jumped up and moved to find another table, leaving their food behind. 

Slowly, as the green tattooed inmate started eating, the tense atmosphere began to die down and the sound level quickly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. 

Hiccup shot an anxious glance around, and his eyes accidentally found Toothless. The normally relaxed man sat forward with his elbows balanced on the edge of the table, his fists clenched. From the hard line of his jaw Hiccup guessed that he had his teeth grit, and he was sending a murderous gaze the new inmate’s way, although the big guy was otherwise oblivious to it, too engrossed in his food.

Hiccup watched as Toothless’ brown haired friend put a hesitant hand on his arm, and slowly Toothless seemed to relax as he listened to the quiet murmurings that were being spoken to him. 

‘Who is that?’ Hiccup whispered to Jack as he looked back to the new inmate. 

‘That’s Green; he was in this section a few months ago but he got moved for fighting. It looks like he’s been brought back in.’ Even Jack looked unsure, which was a surprise for Hiccup. Jack always seemed to know what was happening.

Since they had both finished their food, Hiccup followed Jack to the bathrooms. The only showers in the prison were communal ones, and Hiccup hated them. It was embarrassing having to wash in front of other people (at least he thought so), and so unlike what he was used to back at home. 

As Jack disappeared into the steamy area, Hiccup found an almost empty corner to take his shower in. He faced the wall as he scrubbed his hair clean, he definitely didn’t want to attract anymore leers from the inmates; it was bad enough when he was dressed.

Knowing him, he was the one who was likely going get attacked in there for dropping the soap, or falling face first into some guy as he slipped on the wet floor and as it turned out; that’s exactly what happened. 

Halfway through his shower, Hiccup dropped the soap and was just turning around to try to see where it was when he accidentally stood on it and slipped backwards. He flailed his arms out in shock as he began to tumble backwards, but instead of hitting the cold hard tiles on the wet floor his fall was broken when he hit a firm chest instead. Pale arms wrapped around him to steady him, inadvertently pulling him backwards so he was flush against the body behind.

Hiccup bit his lip. This was it; he was going to be killed. With his luck he’d likely just fallen straight into some huge scary guy with a million tattoos and piercings who decided that they had a problem with him. 

Hiccup was definitely beyond surprised when a dark haired head leaned slowly over his shoulder, and he turned to see who it was, only to find out his face was centimetres away from Toothless’.

‘You should be more careful; we wouldn’t want something bad happening to you, would we?’ Toothless rumbled and Hiccup gulped in reply as the strong arms around his waist tightened their grip menacingly. 

‘Um.’ Words escaped him and Hiccup blushed as Toothless… wait; did he just sniff his neck? Toothless smirked at Hiccup before pulling completely away and abruptly walking off in the opposite direction, his dark form quickly disappearing into the mist of the showers.

Well that wasn’t creepy at all.

‘Hey, why do you look so freaked out?’ Jack laughed while towelling his damp hair dry as Hiccup finally caught up with him in the dressing area. ‘Did you talk to Toothless or just gawk at him?’

Hiccup didn’t bother to reply as Jack continued to snicker, instead just shooting him a glare which probably didn’t look threatening to Jack in the slightest. He wasn’t even going to ask how he knew that his cell mate had been in there as the same time as them.

‘Come on,’ Jack pulled him along once they were both dressed. ‘Work time.’

\---

By the time dinner rolled around, Hiccup was definitely nervous. He was unsure as to Toothless’ intentions, and now having to eat dinner while he got leered at was not anything he was at all looking forward to.

Only Toothless wasn’t there. Three quarters of the way into the meal and there still wasn’t a sign of him. The seat he usually sat in was empty, although the rest of the table was occupied as normal. 

Jack seemed to catch on to Hiccup’s confusion and he spoke. ‘Your boyfriend’s not coming for dinner, from what I heard he got caught fighting.’ 

Fighting? ‘Who was he fighting? And he’s not my boyfriend!’ Hiccup blushed and Jack raised an eyebrow.

Jack pointed his half-filled fork over to where the new inmate, Green, was sat. Hiccup noticed he was sporting a black eye as well as having bruised shoulders and bloody knuckles. ‘That’s my guess,’ Jack answered.

‘But why isn’t he locked away instead?’ Hiccup nodded his head in Green’s direction. ‘I thought you said Toothless always gets his way.’ Maybe he wasn’t as tough as he had thought.

‘Oh, he does; but I suppose it’s much easier to put the smaller guy in isolation, especially since Green’s likely to flip out at anyone.’ At Hiccup’s slightly scared frown he continued. ‘Don’t stress, they normally take anyone in isolation back to their rooms once everyone’s gone to bed.’

\---

Nevertheless, that night, Hiccup found the empty cell was much duller than usual. Of course it meant he could loiter about before getting into bed without having to worry about his cell mate, but he found the unusual emptiness of the boring cell much more unsettling than he did when it was occupied by Toothless’ presence. 

Still, he crawled straight into bed and shut his eyes, hoping he could find a peaceful sleep in the quietness of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Apart from dozing off a few times, a calm peaceful sleep evaded Hiccup. He wasn’t completely sure why rest escaped him, but it did, and he found himself absentmindedly staring up at the old off-white, paint flecked ceiling above him.

 

He had no idea how much time passed before he suddenly heard the heavy metal door to his cell unlocking. Hiccup quickly sat up as Toothless leisurely strolled in, a prison guard shutting the door loudly behind him.

 

Toothless’ emerald eyes met Hiccup’s as he slowly made his way over, pausing and cocking his head to the side when he was stood halfway between the bunk beds and the door. He was sporting a slightly split lip, and there was a dark patch on the corner of his jaw where bruising was beginning to form.

 

Hiccup sat up when he saw Toothless wasn’t moving anywhere, obviously comfortable where he was and waiting for Hiccup to do or say something. Gingerly, Hiccup nervously climbed down the ladder and faced his cell mate.

 

Hiccup spoke the first words that came to mind, ‘What happened? Why were you fighting?’ Everyone seemed to be frightened of Toothless, but Hiccup had yet to see him really put a foot out of place. Admittedly, he was a little creepy, especially with the whole leering thing and stalking up to him in the shower, but apart from that Hiccup found he wasn’t too bad; almost an ok guy.

 

Toothless narrowed his eyes, and was quiet for a beat before answering. ‘Because Green and I have an old score to settle.’ His reply was vague to say the least, but, Hiccup thought, at least he was speaking to him, making conversation and turning the atmosphere much less awkward than it had been originally.

 

‘Were you hurt?’ Hiccup questioned quietly, his sharp inventor eyes looking over the bruises that covered Toothless’ lean arms. He wanted to ask what Toothless meant, but he was sure he wouldn’t get a proper answer.

 

‘What’s it to you?’ Toothless replied with a distrusting expression. He was still stood in the same spot in the middle of the room, and looked like he would be completely at ease with the situation were it not for his facial expression.

 

‘I just wanted to know if you were ok.’ Hiccup answered meekly, his eyes darting to the floor instead of continuing to look at his cell mate.

 

Hiccup was startled when Toothless abruptly moved and backed Hiccup all the way up to the wall, the brown haired boy stumbling a little as he hastily backtracked. ‘Why are you so interested?’ he questioned as he sandwiched the brown haired boy between himself and the cold wall. Hiccup’s back pressed uncomfortably against the cold cement bricks, but he tried to lean backwards further as if he could melt into the wall, in order to get some space between them.

 

‘I’m not!’ Hiccup denied. Toothless smirked toothily, not believing, and leant in further forcing Hiccup to turn his head to the side otherwise he would have been just _too_ close. He quickly realised his mistake however, when Toothless buried his face in his neck and effectively freezing Hiccup in place.

 

‘Don’t be so shy _Hic_ ,’ Toothless’ breath ghosted along Hiccup’s skin as he used unfamiliar nickname, and goose bumps rose wherever his breath touched. ‘I don’t bite,’ Hiccup felt him smirk again against his neck as a hand snaked forward and grasped his hip, ‘too hard’ he murmured.

 

Hiccup gulped but didn’t move, hoping Toothless would back off, which he did, agonisingly slowly. Hiccup could feel that his cheeks were on fire, and he couldn’t meet his cell mates amused gaze. Instead, he bit his lip and slipped out from between Toothless and the wall, practically flying over to the bed.

 

He could feel Toothless’ scrutinizing gaze on him, but Hiccup paid it no heed, instead burying himself under the covers, hoping that he could get a few more hours of sleep before morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha, Hiccup is such a scared-y cat!


	5. Chapter 5

‘Toothless, wait!’

Hiccup stopped his dark haired cell mate in his tracks as he was just about to walk out the door. After more hiding under his blankets than sleeping last night, Hiccup, unusually, hadn’t been the first to get up this morning. He’d waited until after the doors had opened before he sat up and called out to Toothless, who had recently just woken up, and was heading to his breakfast. Now Toothless stood frozen at the entrance to their cell.

‘Look,’ Hiccup began uneasily as he clambered down the bed’s ladder, his mind still on last night’s awkward conversation. Toothless still had his tense back turned to him, but he hadn’t darted out of the open door which was in front of him so Hiccup took that as his queue to continue. ‘You know you can talk to me right? Why would that Green guy want to attack you?’ Hiccup slowly approached Toothless from behind as if he were a wild animal; a wild dragon more likely. 

Hiccup now stood directly behind his cell mate’s muscled back and he could already feel his bare feet start to seep in cold from the rough concrete floor below. ‘You don’t seem like that bad of a guy.’ He remarked without thinking, placing a gentle hand on Toothless’ shoulder.

At the contact, Toothless abruptly reeled around, catching Hiccup’s arm by the wrist and holding it away from him. ‘I don’t need to tell you anything,’ he snarled as he predatorily stalked towards Hiccup, forcing the smaller man backwards. Hiccup half expected Toothless to sprout pointed teeth he looked so aggravated.

Hiccup remained stubborn though; he wanted answers. He bravely kept his eyes locked on Toothless’ narrowed green gaze. When his shoulders hit the top bunk he surprised himself when he suddenly sat down on Toothless’ bed below and turned the grip Toothless had on his wrist so instead it was him holding Toothless and forcefully pulled him down onto the bed next to him.

Toothless eyebrows had disappeared somewhere into his hairline as he had obviously not expected Hiccup to pull this move. He quickly reeled in his shock however as a slow roguish smirk spread across his face. ‘Hiccup if you wanted to get into bed with me all you had to do was ask.’

If Hiccup’s face could have literally caught fire it would have right then. ‘No-no,’ he stammered as Toothless leaned forward and placed a hand either side of him. ‘That’s not what I mean-umpf!’ Hiccup grunted as he fell back against the mattress. He looked up at his cell mate who was now looming over him, the infuriating smirk still present. Hiccup tried to sit up but Toothless pinned his wrists to the bed either side of Hiccup’s shoulders. His head thudded back down and he breathed out a sigh of annoyance. ‘I just want to talk,’ he whispered.

He locked his eyes with Toothless’ again and his cell mate tilted his head thoughtfully for a moment as his eyebrows scrunched up a little before he sat back, pulling Hiccup up into a sitting position by the grip on his wrists, before he released them and shuffled back a little further on the mattress. 

‘What do you want to know?’ Toothless asked, his fingers fiddling with the blanket underneath them as he shot a quick glance up to Hiccup. He looked almost shy, which was such an abrupt change to what Hiccup had recently seen that it left him speechless for a few seconds.

Instead of asking what his problem was with Green, which he was most curious about, Hiccup figured he should start with the basics. ‘What happened that made you get locked up?’

Toothless sighed and ran a hand messily through his dark hair. His eyes flickered around the room for a brief moment before he finally focused back on Hiccup. ‘My… family were wealthy. My father, a successful business man in New York, and my mother and brother both real estate agents. We were uncannily used to having to hire security for protection, but that didn’t mean we weren’t still able to be taken by surprise.’ Toothless paused for a beat before continuing.

‘I remember one night, a long time ago, our security got breeched. Three armed, masked burglars broke into my father’s home, and threatened him to give up his money. He was too proud for that though,’ Toothless snorted. ‘And instead told them, much less politely, to get lost. Obviously they didn’t like that, and by the time their leader had pulled out his weapon I was already fighting them.’ 

What? Hiccup had definitely not been expecting this, but he was glad his cell mate was sharing something with him, even if he looked uneasy about it. Toothless had now begun to avoid eye contact with Hiccup, instead narrowing his gaze to the thread he was slowly picking out of the blanket beneath them.

‘My father didn’t survive the encounter with the burglars, but then neither did their leader once I had finished with him.’ Toothless laughed humourlessly. 

‘Then another night, a few weeks later, I got jumped in the street by Green. It turned out that the leader of the men who broke into my house was Green’s brother, and he wanted revenge for his death. That’s how we were both arrested; a bystander called the police, and once they discovered the reasons behind our fight, we were both locked up. Him for his part in planning the robbery, and the consequential murder of my father, me for manslaughter. Since then, Green has constantly gotten himself into more trouble in prison, so his sentence keeps getting extended as they move him around.’

Hiccup sat frozen in disbelief one Toothless had finished talking. How did someone reply to that? Whatever happened, he definitely knew now, as he had thought before, that it would be a very good idea to steer well clear of Green. 

Hiccup didn’t stop Toothless as he stood from the bed and stalked out the door. His cell mate looked like he needed a little space right now, it seemed like he wasn’t used to talking about himself. He debated a moment for what to do. Hiccup was sure he’d missed breakfast, and he wandered if Jack had noticed he wasn’t there.

.... 

‘Jeez Hiccup, where were you this morning? I thought Toothless had eaten you or something!’ Jack exclaimed as Hiccup rushed into the working area, only just on time. 

‘Um,’ Hiccup replied as he helped Jack to steady the dark wood beam he was currently constructing. Today it looked like the group had to build some kid of shed out in the gardens. ‘I was talking to Toothless.’

‘Yeah, I noticed he wasn’t at breakfast,’ Jack murmured. ‘Are you sure it was just talking you were doing? You’re hair looks like- well, like you’ve just gotten out of bed at least,’ he waggled his eyebrows. ‘And your face is the reddest I’ve ever seen!’ Jack snickered. 

Hiccup’s eyes went wide and he looked at his reflection in the closest pane of glass to them, which happened to be lying on the ground by their feet. ‘No!’ He groaned and put his arms over his head as he ducked away. ‘Don’t look at me!’


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the wait! please let me know what you think!

At breakfast Jack had been unusually quiet. For the entire duration he hadn’t spoken a single word to Hiccup, he’d just kept his head down and played with his food, and when Hiccup had asked what was wrong, Jack had mumbled an unintelligible excuse and left the cafeteria.

That’s how Hiccup found himself walking down the freezing concrete corridor on the way to today’s work all on his own. As he thought more about how the atmosphere had been in the cafeteria, something really did seem wrong; with everyone. Breakfast had been uncomfortably tense. Hardly any of the inmates had been talking, and a lot of them were missing – including Toothless and Green.

Hiccup didn’t know how to really describe the breakfast situation, so he just put it down to not having enough sleep, because really, what else could it be? There was no reason for every inmate to have an anxious look on their face this morning, he must have imagined it. He definitely must have.

But then again, even the guards that stood at the fringe of the room had been shifting about uncomfortably, and all of them had looked ready to draw their weapons and a moment’s notice.

There really must be something wrong; something that either as a newbie Hiccup didn’t know about, or something must have happened while he was asleep. Maybe there was going to be an inspection of the prison and that’s why Toothless and Green had disappeared? So they don’t give the facility a bad reputation? And maybe that’s why Jack had been weird because maybe the person who was visiting had the power to move inmates to a different prison? One that was even worse?

Oh gods, thought Hiccup, what if that’s actually what has happened and Toothless has been transferred to somewhere in the middle of nowhere and I never get to see him again? Even though he couldn’t really complain, because the guy was a little weird and certainly a lot leery - and scary, really scary, but not as scary as Green - that was for sure.

Hiccup was pulled out of his babbling thoughts as for the first time since he had been walking down the dingy corridor he heard footsteps behind him. They were heavy, and fast, not quite at a running pace but definitely speedy.

Hiccup paused in his own steps to turn around to see who it was behind him, but he never got the chance to as he was immediately shoved face first into the wall on his left by a heavy weight behind him.

‘Just what is so special about you?’ Sneered a voice in his ear, and even though Hiccup had never heard him speak, he knew who it was. It was Green.

Hiccup made an unconscious yelping noise as sharp nails pressed into his left shoulder. ‘Green I don-‘

‘Silence!’ bellowed the huge weight behind him, and Hiccup thought he might just pass out from fear. ‘That is not my name child,’ Hiccup heard the man behind him say after a few tense seconds. ‘I am The Green Death!’ he spat, ‘And this is my prison! I should burn you where you stand for your insolence!’

Oh gods, thought Hiccup, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and holding his breath. Did he have a lighter? He’s not really going to set fire to me is he? He couldn’t! People would find out! And any form of weapon was prohibited anyway, so he couldn’t possibly have one!? Hiccup had had to go through a very intense strip search on his first day to prove that he was not carrying anything.

‘Better.’ The Green Death breathed into his ear, mistaking Hiccup’s silence for him following his orders. When, really, Hiccup was just too scared to speak. ‘Now what would that blasted usurper want with child like you? Hmm? Whatever he sees; I don’t see it. But that doesn’t matter, you’re mine now.’ What?! Hiccup panicked internally. 

‘You’re certainly not mate material,’ he sneered as he spun Hiccup, as if he were a rag doll, around to face him. Green then proceeded to fling Hiccup by the neck a few feet into the air and down the corridor. Hiccup painfully crashed to the ground on his back as Green began to stalk after him. His face was predatory, and his smile was all sharp teeth and looked too large for his face. Hiccup frantically began to shuffle backwards as Green stalked after him with steady, precise steps. He looked like something out of a nightmare.

This is it. I really am going to be killed in prison by my cellmate’s insane rival. Hiccup squeezed his eyes so tightly shut it was painful, and waited for the blow to come.

But it never did.

Instead there was a loud whooshing of air over head, and Hiccup looked up just in time to see Toothless aim a flying drop kick Green so powerfully that the huge man went sailing down the corridor. Toothless landed with perfect cat like grace in a crouched position, and his now luminescent emerald eyes darted back to look at Hiccup, before he angled his body and prepared himself to pounce on Green whilst he was still recovering. 

Hiccup probably would have stayed there on the floor forever, since his body was frozen by a mixture of fear and surprise, but he couldn’t, because just then a hand grabbed his arm, and he heard a familiar voice shout him.

‘Move Hiccup! Come on!’ Somehow, Hiccup managed to regain some sense of himself and the situation around him and stumble to his feet. He took his white haired friend’s other offered hand and clambered to find his footing, all the while watching Toothless and Green fight. It was only when Green threw Toothless into the concrete wall that he himself had been pressed into a few seconds ago that he managed to avert his eyes and run in the opposite direction with Jack.

The only thing Hiccup could hear was his heart pumping extremely loudly in his ears. The thud thud thudding of his heart completely drowned out the sound of shattering concrete and the furious, inhuman growls that were emanating from his cellmate.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack and Hiccup paused in their mad dash away from the fighting to catch their breath.

When Hiccup had last looked back, Toothless had been dodging Green’s furious punches; swiftly dancing out of the way of the heavier man’s blows. They had both looked to be in bad shape as Toothless had obvious bruising that was beginning to bloom on his cheekbones and there was blood dripping from the left corner of his mouth. Green was not in any better shape either; Hiccup could tell by the way he moved that his chest had taken the brunt of his cell mate’s blows, and just like Toothless, his face was also decorated by the light purple blotches of bruising beginning to form.

They had been running for a few minutes, well, Jack had been running, Hiccup had just been pulled along. They were now at a junction where two corridors met. Darting around the corner, Jack stood leaning against the wall and Hiccup, dazed, began sliding down said wall to sit on the cold grey floor. 

Hiccup attempted to poke his head around the corner to see what was happening between Toothless and The Green Death, but Jack immediately pulled him back. ‘No Hiccup! You don’t want to see that.’ Just like Hiccup, the white haired man was slightly out of breath from their sprint.

Shakily, Hiccup, being notoriously good at not paying attention, stood up. Ignoring Jack’s warning, he walked out into the corridor, just as the thunderous running of many feet sounded. He glanced behind himself and immediately was roughly shoved to the side as dozens upon dozens of security guards sailed past him in their rush to get to the fighting.

Each guard was dressed as usual in their bland grey and black uniform, he noticed, but all of them carried some kind of metal tube in their hands that he had never seen before. Hiccup watched as the guard furthest to the back, and incidentally closest to Hiccup, shook the stick, elongating it. He could clearly hear the sizzle of electricity.

‘Toothless!’ Hiccup shouted over the heads of the swarming guards that were running straight towards the inmates. Hiccup couldn’t clearly see the fighting, he could only hear the sounds of scuffling and see the occasional dart of a black shadow from behind the wall of guards. He assumed that the dark shadow was Toothless.

As the guards reached the pair, they separated to encircle them, giving Hiccup a clear view of what was happening. He could feel Jack was stood behind him as he saw, with his own eyes, Toothless powerfully pick Green up and throw him clear away. The Green Death landed with a definite thud as he slid on his back further down the corridor, through a sea of shattered concrete that must have been created by their fighting earlier. Focusing his attention on the guards, Toothless tensed into a crouch. He curled his top lip up at the swarm of people in front of him and bared his unnaturally sharp teeth menacingly.

Not as high with adrenaline now, Hiccup could tell that this was not just some ordinary fight. Toothless and Green were certainly not just ordinary people either.

How could Toothless lift Green as if he weighed nothing? He watched as Green stood. What was wrong with them? Maybe it’s just this angle Hiccup tried to rationalise, but from the look of it, it looked like neither inmate were quite in proportion. This is crazy Hiccup thought. Both Green and Toothless’ teeth looked too large and way too sharp for their mouths. Toothless’ eyes were as unnaturally bright as the lights overhead, and even though his cell mate’s hands were in tight fists, he could see the gleam of claws as he huffed angrily.

It was obvious that both inmates were readying themselves to fight the guards, and probably themselves again thought Hiccup. But from the view he had, he could tell that Toothless would only come out worse off, especially against guards with the power to electrocute him.

Toothless had readied himself, and was now about to attempt to take on the guards, which were seconds away from reaching him, when Hiccup managed to catch his eye.

Don’t do it pleaded Hiccup, catching Toothless’ eye. It would be suicide. Thanks to his inventing experience, he could tell that there were enough volts sizzling through the weapons to kill a man. 

Miraculously, Toothless seemed to understand what Hiccup was worrying about, and, still keeping eye contact he slowly straightened himself out of the half crouch he had been in, dropping his guard just as the first man reached him.

Immediately, the guard roughly jabbed Toothless in the stomach with his electrified baton, and the dark haired man fell to the floor, unconscious.

‘No!’ shouted Hiccup as the remaining guards swarmed at The Green Death. The large man was clearly not thinking on the same page as Toothless had been as he viciously began to battle the guards. The fight didn’t last long though. Hiccup couldn’t see how many times Green was jabbed, but it took 6 guards surrounding him before he stopped putting up a fight.

‘What is this?’ Hiccup whispered as he numbly watched a battered and unconscious Toothless be picked up by a guard and be dragged away.

‘This is what happens to dragons in the 21st century.’ Sighed the white haired man.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long! Thankyou to everyone who's still interested in sticking by!

Hiccup remained silent throughout the entire journey to Astrid’s office, much to the concern of Jack. He walked obediently next to the guards through the maze of corridors, his step never faltering and his limbs never straying. It’s as if he’s a puppet, thought Jack. 

In truth, Hiccup was not only processing what had occurred, but attempting to formulate a plan of escape. I can’t stay here; I’ll be eaten or worse! But neither can I leave Jack or Toothless, and I haven’t a clue how to get them out without any of us being hurt.

Broken out of his thoughts, Hiccup was thrust into the office, Jack by his side. Astrid sat calmly behind her paper strewn desk, watching the two of them closely. Eventually, after Hiccup had begun to fidget, she stood and pointed first at Jack and then to the door. ‘Out!’

‘I’m not leaving hiccup! He-‘ Jack immediately began to protest. Hiccup shivered wandering if the air conditioning had just been turned on.

‘Frost!’ She barked, her eyes narrowing. Hiccup’s white haired friend went silent. He narrowed his eyes menacingly and stalked out the way he had come, softly shutting the door behind him.

‘Now,’ Astrid sighed as she perched herself on the edge of her desk. She suddenly looked very tired. ‘I’m sure you many questions Hiccup.’

Hiccup just stared at her, still comprehending the predicament he was now in. Toothless and Green were dragons. Dragons! Dragons actually existed! They were no longer a part of the fairy tales his mother used to talk about all those years ago. ‘What is this place?’

Hiccup’s eyes were locked with Astrid’s as she spoke. He noticed she was twiddling her thumbs nervously. ‘It’s a mess.’ She muttered. ‘This institute was founded a long time ago, when the government first discovered that dragons and… other species existed. Ever since then, facilities like this have been built to try and contain them, to stop knowledge of them getting out to the public.’

 

‘How long has Toothless been here? And what do you mean ‘other species’?’’ Hiccup interrupted. 

‘Toothless has been here ever since this building’s opening, 20 years ago. He is one of the most powerful species we have here.’ At Hiccup’s questioning stare she explained; ‘It is not just dragons that populate these facilities.’

‘There’s more than dragons out there?!’ Hiccup’s eyes were as wide as saucers.

‘Yes,’ Astrid replied carefully. 

Hiccup knew he wouldn’t get a better answer. ‘So why am I here?’ he questioned. ‘I’m human!’

‘I know you are Hiccup.’ Continued Astrid. ‘About 20% of the inmates here are human. This programme has only recently been started. It was designed to see if humans and other species can coexist. But, as I’m sure you can tell, things have gone a little… awry. Many species did not take to the programme at all, and have therefore been confined to a life of isolation.’ Her troubled eyes seemed to look through Hiccup.

‘Toothless told me he was put in here because of a burglary that went wrong.’

‘That was certainly a lie,’ Astrid laughed.

Astrid’s eyes jerked up anxiously as the dark silhouettes of guards flitted past the window of the office. Hiccup turned to watch. ‘You need to find a way out of here.’ She whispered, coming up to stand beside him.

‘How?’ whispered Hiccup, daunted.

‘You’re an inventor aren’t you?’ Astrid asked rhetorically. Hiccup nodded. ‘Then invent something!’

Astrid took a deep breath and strode to the door, regaining her composure. She yanked it open, giving a Hiccup a clear a sign as any that their time was up.

As the door shut silently behind him, Hiccup walked over to where Jack was stood a few feet away. ‘Where would they have put Toothless?’ he asked.

‘I think they would have confined him to a cell. He’s probably in the isolation building,’ Jack replied slowly. ‘Why?’

‘We’ve got a job to do,’ murmured Hiccup. 

Jack smirked mischievously as they set for Toothless. ‘I like the sound of this.’

‘Wait a second,’ Hiccup began as Jack began to lead him. ‘You’re not a dragon are you?’ He stared at Jack quizzically.

Jack just laughed. ‘Oh definitely not!’ Hiccup didn’t think he’d ever seen Jack laugh so much.

‘Well will you tell me who is then?’ Hiccup replied. Jack nodded, but stayed silent. They approached a fork in the corridor and Jack steered them right. All the corridors looked the same to Hiccup, and he knew that if it wasn’t for his friend, he would certainly be lost by now. 

After a few minutes cells started to appear on each wall. The first few were empty; the inmates must be at work thought Hiccup. But the further they walked less empty cells appeared. 

Inside the first occupied cell they walked past was the man who always sat next to Toothless in the cafeteria. He was brown haired and covered in red flame like tattoos. He bared his teeth as they walked past.

Hiccup sent a questioning look to Jack and his friend replied by saying; ‘Yeah, he’s a dragon. All of the people who sit with your boyfriend in the cafeteria are too. But you ought to stay away from him,’ Jack added quickly, jabbing his thumb towards the cell. ‘He has this nasty habit of setting himself on fire.’ After a pause Jack spoke again; ‘Fire’s useless.’

Hiccup heard a growl emanate from inside the cell and quietly stepped farther away from the dragon that was now stood menacingly against the bars. ‘Much bett’r to be useful all year ‘round, don’t ya think Hicc’p?’ The dragon’s speech was disjointed and broken as his teeth elongated into deadly razor sharp fangs.

‘Show off.’ Muttered Jack as he steered Hiccup away and they began walking again.

Hiccup thought a change of subject would be the best approach, as Jack seemed to be in a sour mood. Thinking about what Green had been saying he asked; ‘What did Green mean when he said I’m not mate material?’

Jack frowned and gave him a funny look, but kept up his long strides. ‘He said that?’ 

‘Yeah,’ replied hiccup. ‘What do you think he meant?’

‘Well,’ Jack started, scratching the back of his neck. ‘You know how Toothless has a bit of a soft spot for you…’ he trailed off.

‘Oh gods let’s not talk about this!’ Hiccup stammered, embarrassed. That was a stupid question to ask he thought.

Eventually they made it to the isolation section of the building. The ‘section’ consisted of one endless dank stretch of corridor inlaid with numerous iron doors. There were no bars on these cells; their inhabitants were completely sealed away from view. There was an ugly vibe hanging in the air.

Hiccup glanced at Jack and immediately wished he hadn’t. His friend looked as pale as his hair.

‘Which cell will Toothless be in?’ Whispered Hiccup. At the sound of his voice, the silent corridor began to fill with a cacophony of noises. To his right, behind a door marked ‘WNDG’ came the scratching of razor sharp fingernails. Two cells further down, a voice began to repeat Hiccup’s words, matching the sound and pitch of his voice perfectly. That door was labelled ‘CRCTT’.

As Jack opened his mouth to reply, a familiar voice shouted over the noise. ‘This one!’

Toothless’ voice came from a door on the left marked ‘NGHTFRY’. The letters were scrawled messily in black pen, as were the others. Jack held Hiccup behind him as he slid open the small hatch on the door and peered in. ‘Yeah, that’s him,’ he spoke after a beat. 

‘How do we get him out?’ Every muscle in Hiccup’s body was tense with fear. He had never felt the need to flee so badly before. The handle of a door marked ‘DMN’ twisted. Hiccup was grateful the door did not budge – he didn’t want to know what horror was inside. He remembered Astrid’s words about the ‘other species’ and their lack of cooperation.

‘Stand back,’ said Jack. Hiccup watched as the white haired man laid his palm flat against the lock. The surrounding metal immediately began to freeze.

‘Wait... I’ve just realised! Your last name is Fro-‘ Hiccup’s astounded words were abruptly cut off as as Jack punched a hole straight through the frozen metal, breaking the lock. Hiccup took a step back as Jack pulled the door open, freeing Toothless.

Toothless staggered out. He stood, swaying slightly in the middle of the corridor, and then abruptly lurched to the right. Neither Hiccup nor Jack were close enough to catch him as he fell against the wall, so Toothless reached above him for something to hold on to so he could regain his footing.

Unfortunately, what Toothless took for a metal bracket on the wall was actually a poorly screwed on box, containing the electrical components that automatically kept the cell doors locked. With his inhuman grip the flimsy metal box bent and crumpled like a piece of paper being scrunched. 

The three of them flinched back as sparks sprang from the snapped wires inside the broken box. ‘Oh gods.’ Whispered Hiccup.

Then, the lights went out. 

And every single cell door in the endless corridor opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you guess what the letters on the cell doors stood for? ;)


	9. No Way Out

As Jack helped Toothless to regain his footing, Hiccup stood stock still. The darkness inside the forboding corridor was absolute, but it was far from silent.

Infront of them came the scritching sound of nails on metal which sent shivers down Hiccup's spine.

"We need to get out of here," whispered Hiccup into the stagnant air. Behind them footsteps echoed.

"No." Barked Toothless. Hiccup spun to face him as the red emergency light flickered into life. Toothless stood tall now, appearing much larger and stronger than he had previously, as if a weight had been lifted from him.

Jack however looked uneasy. "Did you hit your head? These creatures, things, are here because they cannot be controlled! They are going to eat us!"

"But who contols them?" Asked Hiccup at the same time Toothless said; "There's someone we need to get out of here." However both of their words were drowned out as suddenly Astrid screamed "Hiccup!"

Immediately he started towards the call, but both Toothless and Jack held him back. "That's not her!" Shouted Jack over the cacaphony of cries.

"But it is!" Argued Hiccup. "That's Astrid! She needs our help! Can't you hear her!?"

"Hiccup!" Toothless grabbed the younger man by the shoulders. "That is not her!"

"Then what is it?" From his touch on his shoulders Toothless could feel Hiccup's frantically beating heart. 

"It is a crocotta." Was all he said. Hiccup frowned and tried to peer around his shoulders but Toothless roughly pulled him back.

"Don't look at it!" Reprimanded Jack, even as his wide eyes darted around nervously. "That thing will eat your soul."

"Stop exaggerating, you're scaring him," murmured Toothless. His mouth was down turned at the corners and a frown creased his brow as he looked at Hiccup. Jack didn't argue.

Hiccup was at a loss. The imitation had stopped as soon as Toothless had told him that it was not really the prision guard calling for him, and now they were left standing in an eerie silence. "Toothless we need to go."

Relinquishing his hold he nodded and raised his head. In a very reptilian way he appeared to taste the air before grabbing Hiccup and purposefully striding forward, in the opposite direction. "This way."

Nevertheless, both Hiccup and Jack followed him. Try as he might, as they walked past the open cell doors, Hiccup couldn't help but look inside; but they were all empty. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or terrified.

A ways behind them, the door that was marked 'DMN' began swinging and banging wildly. Hiccup flinched in fright.

"Ignore it," Reassured Jack, although he appeared to be scared himself. 

Meanwhile, slightly ahead of them, Toothless was anxiously scanning the corridor, peering into open cells, and occasionally darting away when something stared back.

The dim corridor really did seem endless, but what worried Hiccup the most was the surprising lack of monsters. Yes, he could hear them all around; the click of their claws on the concrete and their puffs of air as they breathed. Occasionally something would brush his leg, but wjenever he looked down there was nothing there, and nothing came of it.

It was obvious that they were circling around them, and from Jack's worried expression he could tell he knew it too, but he saw nothing, except for the faint outline of half hidden beings in the distance and deep gouges on the walls. 

They were encircled, but it felt like there was a barrier that they could not cross. Almost as if Toothless' presence was keeping them at bay. He wandered how long they would keep their distance. 

Throughout his musings, Hiccup's mind wandered to Toothless (as it often did). He really didn't know him at all. And why, now, did he suddenly appear stronger, why was his presence more commanding? From the trip over, it felt like this wing was the furthest wing away from the centre of the facility. Maybe that had something to do with it.

It was obvious now, when he thought about it, how calm and restrained Toothless had been before they had rescued him. Even though they had only been here for just a few minutes, there was more about him than there had been previously. 

To Hiccup, dragons should be fire and rage, untameable and unchangeable - not eating porridge and building sheds.

There was something wrong here.

A dragon, in his full form, would easily be able to break these walls and climb out of this prison. So what was stopping Toothless and all of the others here? Why were they in human form?

What was contolling them?

Whatever it was, it had to be at the centre of the prison complex.

'Come on Hiccup," Jack nudged him. Toothless had darted into an open cell without sparing a backwards glance.

Cautiously, Hiccup peered around the door frame, while Jack stood at the entrance. Inside, Toothless was kneeling next to a man who was sat with his legs crossed on the floor. Toothless was fiddling with the manacles that were attached to his wrists.

The man had light brown hair and a lean but firm build, although he couldnt see his face properly as the man was watching Toothless. What he could glean, however, was that he appeared neither sad or angry and he had a few faint laughter lines around his eyes. 

"Who's that?" Hiccup whispered to Jack, who just shrugged. He was overheard by Toothless and his friend however, and they both turned to look at him. 

Toothless only spared a glance, but the shackled man stared silently and intently at Hiccup. It was like he was searching for something. 

Whatever he was looking for, he appeared to find it, as after a while a small smile graced his features, one that he shared with both Hiccup and Toothless.

With a sharp clack, the shackles broke into two pieces, and Toothless helped his friend to his feet, sharing a significant look as he did.

Hiccup was the first to break the silence. "Toothless?" He asked with a confused frown.

After apparently making up his mind, he spoke; "This is an old friend of mine," he revealed, gently clapping the man on his shoulder. "When we were free he was called Cloud Jumper." They both walked over to join them at the door.

Cloud Jumper smiled serenely at Hiccup again as he stolled past him to wlk next to Toothless as they headed towards the exit. To Hiccup, he looked very at ease - too at ease. In his opinion, they should all be screaming and running for their lives, like his family had done when he shared with them his love for inventing. 

Nevertheless, they plodded along. A few metres from the exit, the air suddenly dropped dramatically in temperature. Toothless glanced questioningly at Jack, to which he replied "This isn't me."

As they walked, the air got colder, so much so that Hiccup could see his breath fogging infront of him. The hair on the back of his neck and arms rose, and he had to battle with his incancessant need to flee and hide like a frightened rabbit. 

By now, they were walking past the cell that Toothless had been held in, uncomfortably close to where the Crocotta had been. 

However, it was when they walked past the open door labelled 'WNDG' that things took a turn for the worse.

Razor sharp talons reached out of the cell and latched onto the collar of Hiccup's shirt, tearing it with the force of its grip and pulling him inside. 

"Hiccup!" Jack shouted as both Toothless and Cloud Jumper spun to face the cell. For a second he managed to grab Hiccup's hand, but he was roughly snatched away from him. 

Inside of the cell, no light permeated the darkness, not even the red emergency light which had taken an unearthly crimson tone. Looking into the room was akin to staring into an abyss.

Cloud Jumper held back both Toothless and Jack from charging inside. "Do not go inside blind," he spoke for the first time since his rescue. 

Toothless pulled a silver lighter from his pocket and handed it to Jack - the dragons wouldn't need it, who clicked it into life.

Even to Toothless' ears, there was no sound of Hiccup, only a shuffling and scuttling from deep inside the cell. 

Toothless plowed inside. With his first steps, the darkness that loomed around them appeared to shift and dissipate, just as the noises quietened, like they were futher away. 

Whatever had been causing the darkness had left, as quickly as it had snatched Hiccup. The only thing remaining in the cell was a large black crater in the corner that had been dug into the floor.

The hole went through both concrete and the dirt foundations beneath, and mud as well as numerous horrible stains covered the walls. The parts of the floor that had not been excavated were littered with scratch marks and riddled with vein like cracks. 

"He's down there?!" Whispered Jack in horror. "Hiccup!" He shouted into it, before Toothless had a chance to stop him.

"Idiot!" Toothless hissed, his entire form was tense and his eyes had turned into slits. "Now it knows we're following it!"

"What it it?" Jack flicked the lighter closed as he asked. He refused to be intimidated by Toothless - Hiccup was his friend!

"This is the den of a Wendigo," stated Cloud Jumper quietly, "and Hiccup is inside."


End file.
